[exelius]

The problem is that if you're 30 and "average" in America, you're probably barely scraping by, don't own a house, and have a mountain of debt. It's not a great life if you have to worry whether you're going to make rent on a monthly basis.

If you have a job that makes enough to afford the trappings of a comfortable life (place to live, enough left over to save, emergency account for if you get sick/injured, invest in retirement, etc.) and work 40 hours a week, you're in the minority.

Outside of HN, people aren't working 80 hour weeks because they're trying to be a millionaire, they're doing it because they need to pay rent. Anyone reading this site is almost by definition in the top 10%.

[klez]

> Anyone reading this site is almost by definition in the top 10%

That's a pretty wide assumption to make. I'm a young (30) dev, I make just north of 20K euros per year (before taxes), I rent an apartment with my girlfriend and two other people. I wouldn't consider myself poor, but certainly not "top 10%".

You make it sound like only venture capitalists and successful startup founders read this site.

[nxsynonym]

The issue is circular, in this regard. You should't HAVE to work two jobs or perform above average just to make ends meet.

FWIW, I'm 25, working in non-tech at the moment, making 32k a year in the one of the more expensive cities on the east coast. I'm trying to relocate to a cheaper part of the country but between mandatory student loan payments, high rent and general cost of living I can either choose to build an emergency fund, or dump it all on the cost of relocating.

My bigger point is that this attitude of workaholism is way too prevalent in American culture. Cost of living and wage decline has followed the trend of "down on their luck millionaires" who think everyone else is just lazy.

When minimum wage lands you in deep poverty the system is broken.